Minecraft: Pocket Edition is the mobile version of Minecraft developed by Mojang AB. It was initially launched exclusively for the Xperia PLAY on Google Play[9] for US$6.99 on August 16, 2011. It was later released for other Android devices on the 7th of October 2011.[10]Minecraft Pocket Edition for iOS devices was released on Thursday, the 17th of November 2011[11] on the iOS App Store. On September 13, 2012, the Pocket Edition was made available for purchase on the Amazon Appstore. On April 2, 2014, the Pocket Edition was released for the Amazon Fire TV, with support for the Fire TV's controller.[12] A demo/lite version of the game, which was essentially version 0.2.1 without world save functionality, was available until October 21, 2013. On December 10, 2014, the Windows Phone version was released on the Windows Store.[13] On July 29, 2015 Minecraft Pocket Edition was released on Windows 10 as MinecraftWindows 10 Edition Beta.[14]

The objective of the game remains the same as its more developed PC and Console Edition counterparts, where players can build virtual realities in a sandbox-like environment. However, Pocket Edition lacks certain survival elements present in other versions of the game such as brewing and hunger, and lacks bosses and dimensions. The multiplayer mode is cross-platform compatible between all touch-screen devices capable of running Pocket Edition.[15]

The HUD and other elements are adapted to mobile standards of gameplay. Interactions are made via touchscreen (both the iOS and Android versions of Pocket Edition have the same gameplay[16]). To comply with the disadvantages of touchscreen gameplay, several features were revised. For instance, the crafting system uses the MATTIS system and items are disposed by long-tapping their icon on the hotbar. For better visibility on mobile screens, blocks being aimed at are highlighted rather than outlined. The game was released with graphics akin to that of Minecraft Alpha (bright green grass blocks, old cobblestone texture, etc.), but as of Alpha 0.8.0, graphics have become equivalent, and arguably better, than the PC version with light tinting and shading affected by the Sun's position. Differences from the PC edition include:

Each mob has some sort of difference from their PC counterparts. See the Mobs section below.

Pocket Edition differs from the PC version in a variety of ways, such as more vibrant graphics, revised terrain and exclusive items. The development team stated that once Pocket Edition is up to date with PC, it will start making its own diverse progress.[17]

Old walking sounds (Android)
Must face the same direction as an adjacent chest to make a Large Chest, otherwise it creates two adjacent chests
Breaking particles concur with texture; No crack animation; Texture remains default on Christmas Day; Old texture in inventory

Larger in size; Supports two riders; Has paddles on each side; Uses paddling mechanics; Color dependant on Wood Plank type; Does not take damage when crashed; Crafting recipe includes one wooden shovel

No drops; Can only notice the player within a 16 block range; Gets provoked when looked at on its waist rather than face; Has an exclusive attack animation; For clients, it appears to move swiftly to destination when teleporting, rather than disappearing and reappearing.

A video of an early prototype was released on Twitter, showing the game on the Xperia PLAY. The alpha version was recently released, and became no longer exclusive to the Xperia PLAY on the 7th of October 2011. The non-exclusive version was going to be released on September 29th for Android[18] but there were several severe bugs that needed to be fixed; the release was delayed until the 7th of October.

A version for iOS devices was confirmed to be released before 2012 in an interview with Mojang[19] and was subsequently released on the 17th of November 2011.

After the initial releases for iOS and Android, updates were released in parallel, with the same features being added for both platforms. During the Alpha stage, various aspects of gameplay were introduced into Pocket Edition including: crafting, smelting, more blocks, items, mobs and more game modes to bring it closer to the PC version. As the Minecraft Pocket Edition development team works closely, often blocks released on the computer version are released around the same time for the Pocket Edition.

As of November 21, 2013, development builds for updates 0.8.0 and above were made available to Android users who were added to a Google Plus community group. The purpose of these builds were to give developers an idea of bugs present and to test the app before the update was released to the public.

The iOS and other versions feature a D-pad at the bottom-left corner of the screen, which controls movement. The jump button is located in the center of the d-pad. When moving forward, two strafing buttons will appear. Note that when moving towards an adjacent block that is one level higher than the player, the player will automatically jump up the block. One can place blocks by tapping the screen in a desired location. Destroying blocks is similar to the PC version's way, but rather than clicking the mouse, the player taps and holds. The search button used to be able to change the camera to and from third person view, but now this has to be done via the pause screen, and the menu and back buttons will open the pause screen. To open the inventory screen, tap the triple dotted button on the right of the hot bar. You can touch and hold an item in the hot bar to throw it, and if the hot bar contains a stack of items, it will throw the entire stack. You cannot divide it unless interfacing with a container (chest, furnace).

NOTE: As of update 0.9.5, touchpad implementation is broken, with D-Pad movement stretched across both touchpads. However, Tommaso Checchi replyed to a user on reddit that the controls will hopefully be fixed in 0.12.0.[24]

All devices have an option to enable Split Touch Controls, which may be more suitable for bigger screens. There is a cross hair and the right half of the screen lets the player rotate the camera.

Other than the screen size difference allowing 6 slots in the hotbar (which as of 0.7.0 if the D-pad on other devices is small, you get an extra slot), the tablet version of the game is the same as other versions, hence the ability to play multiplayer cross-platform with other devices.

Some devices below these specifications have been known to work fine either with or without custom ROM images, kernels, and overclocking of the CPU. However, the CPU "MSM7227" is not supported due to its lack of the floating-point unit.[28]

In the demo video, before the game was released, smooth lighting was available. It was taken out due to bugs being produced on a wide range of devices. As of 0.7.0, it is on by default, and since 0.8.0, it cannot be turned off.

The terrain.png file found in filesystem of the App is nearly identical to that in the PC version, containing textures for items unimplemented in the Pocket Edition (e.g., cauldron). However in 0.8.0, this file was replaced with terrain-atlas.tga, a neater version of the previous file

The barrier wall in old worlds is also cut by the height limit allowing players to go over it.

The average placing/destroying block range is 4-6 on the PC version whilst for the iOS/Android is 6-9.

Due to the auto-jump feature, if one opens the inventory or pause menu at the same time as jumping or swimming, one can go on auto-pilot and the player would jump, walk and/or swim without any commands. Auto-pilot ends once the pause menu or inventory is closed.

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